Humanities

Home   |   Academics   |   Academic Information   |   College and Schools   |   College of Arts and Sciences   |   Division of Humanities  |   Religious Studies Minor

Religious Studies Minor

Religious studies analyzes the human relationship to what is conceived as ultimate reality or the highest reality.  During your coursework, you will study the beliefs, practices, and behaviors that are expressions of this relationship, examining them in their individual and corporate, historical and contemporary forms.  Human history displays established patterns of the relationship to ultimate reality in the world’s major religious traditions.  Religious studies minors learn about the major world religions in all their diversity while also focusing in a special way on Christianity, its sacred texts, and Christian theology.  Within this framework, you have significant freedom to shape your program of study in the direction of your interest.  You may choose a more general analysis of the world religions or you may make a more intensive study of Christianity with your electives.

The religious studies minor stresses development of skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing.  It involves significant use and analysis of scholarly methodologies to understand the phenomenon of religion and interpret religious texts.

 

 

 

Program Highlights

 

Highlights of the religious studies minor program include:

 

  • Developing an understanding for and analyze:


    • the history, geographical distribution, and beliefs and practices of the world’s major religions

    • the history, beliefs, and practices of major Christian groups today, focusing on Christianity in the United States

  • Understanding and implementing contemporary scholarly methods for analyzing sacred texts, religious history, and religious expressions

  • Developing competency in reading, writing, and critical thinking skills

 

 

 

Minor Requirements

 

  • 18 credit hours

    • 6 of your elective credits must at the upper division level

  • Must maintain GPA of 2.25 in courses applied to minor

  • All courses for minor must be completed with a grade of C- or higher

  • Course Requirements

 

 

 

Employment Opportunities

 

The religious studies minor will help prepare you for seminary studies and/or a career in Christian ministry.  It will also help prepare you for academic graduate work in religious studies or other fields.  This degree can be used in any career that values critical thinking and sensitivity to human motivation, and involves encounters with diverse communities of belief in our increasingly global society.